Chasing Dreams

by Deborah Raney

  She struggled to her feet and went to check the thermostat. “It says it’s seventy-four in here, but it feels like an oven.”

  “You just aren’t used to working so hard.”

  “Excuse me? Says the girl who is unemployed?”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “I’m only kidding.” Joanna immediately felt sorry for her careless comment. “I know you’ve been working your tail off.”

  “Phee said you guys were okay with me not looking for a job … at least until both cabins are done.” Britt’s tone said the barb still stung.

  “We are, Britt. I promise, I was kidding. I shouldn’t have said that. We truly couldn’t keep this place going if it wasn’t for you.”

  Britt didn’t respond, but her shoulders seemed to relax a bit, even as she dabbed black paint through the stencil onto the white painted floor.

  Joanna had taken off early from work to help Britt, but since there was barely space for both of them in the little bathroom, she’d been relegated to passing Britt the supplies she needed. She felt like a nurse handing instruments to a surgeon. The room was technically a three-quarter bath, since it had only a narrow shower and no tub. Joanna was surprised how many people rejected this rental in favor of Britt’s cabin, which had an equally tiny bath, but boasted a clawfoot tub.

  “We should paint the floor in your bathroom like this.” Joanna aimed to change the subject and find a way to make up for her thoughtlessness.

  “I did consider that, but we’d have to paint around the tub. That beast would be almost impossible to move.” She repositioned the stencil and dipped her brush into the can, then wiped the brush almost dry before dabbing on the paint.

  The effect was like a weathered vintage black-and-white tile. Phylicia had found the pattern on Pinterest and was so enamored with the look that she’d talked about doing a similar treatment in the powder room at the new house. They’d broken ground on Phee and Quinn’s house earlier in the week, and a constant stream of workmen and vehicles had clogged the lane ever since.

  “So … Phee said you have a date tomorrow night. This sounds like it’s getting pretty serious.”

  Joanna frowned. “Serious? What exactly did Phee say?” She’d only mentioned her date in passing when she declined Phylicia’s invitation to dinner Friday. She hadn’t told her older sister that this date was with Ben.

  “Just that you had a date. Why? Was it supposed to be a secret or something?”

  “No. It’s … I’m going out with Ben.”

  Britt stopped dabbing and turned to look at Joanna. “Ben Harven?”

  “No, Benjamin Franklin.” Jo smirked and gave her sister a playful shove.

  Britt lost her balance and squealed, but she caught herself before she toppled onto the wet paint. “You do not want me to have to start all over on this floor, sister.”

  “Sorry!”

  Britt set her paintbrush on the edge of the can. “You’re going out with Ben again? After all this time? How on earth did that happen? And what about Luke? I thought you really liked him.”

  “I do. I like him a lot, but I like Ben too. Maybe even loved him once upon a time.”

  “Okay. So have you told Luke about his … competition?”

  “I haven’t talked to Luke since the night I saw Ben.” She told Britt about running into Ben and his friends in the park and about Ben’s subsequent phone call. “Am I terrible that when it comes to Luke, I just can’t seem to get past Mateo?”

  “Not terrible …”

  “But? What aren’t you saying?”

  Britt scooted back on the floor and started on another section of the stencil. “I’m not not saying anything. Except, you really need to talk to Luke.”

  “I know. I will. But in my defense, he made it clear that we’re just friends.”

  “He did?”

  “We had an argument about Mateo. I told him how I feel … that I don’t want to start a relationship when a twelve-year-old is part of the deal.”

  “But Jo … what is Luke supposed to do about that? Get rid of the kid? He doesn’t really have a choice, does he?”

  “No. And I’m not asking him to change anything. Like I told him, I need time to think about it … and pray about it.”

  “And have you? Prayed about it?”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  Her sister gave a guilty smile. “Just checking.”

  “I know.” But had she really? Prayed about it? She’d assumed a lot of things were God’s direction, but had she really listened for His voice? Had she even taken the time to pray more than a hurried, tossed-up prayer? She had to admit she hadn’t spent any time reading the Bible or even seeking wise counsel. Something Mom and Dad had always been big on. She sighed. “I’m about ready to swear off men for the rest of my life.”

  “Well, I know you don’t mean that. At least I don’t think you do. What happened to going back to law school? Not that you can’t go to law school and have a man at the same time.”

  Joanna shrugged, but the question threw her for a loop. “I don’t know. I suppose I will go back eventually. I don’t really want to work for Trenton the rest of my life. But after being around the stuff he has to deal with, I’m not sure that’s really the direction I want to go anymore.”

  Did she dare admit, even to her sister, that a career in law had taken a back seat to her desire to open a wedding venue? She would have felt like a failure admitting that to Ginger or any of her other friends. They were all so focused on careers and even after they had a career, on getting advanced degrees. Of course, most of them were already married. And if she was honest with herself, that was the desire that most filled Joanna Chandler’s heart.

  “So what do you want? If money were no object and you could do anything you wanted?”

  She hesitated. “Promise you won’t laugh?”

  “Of course I won’t. Unless you tell me you want to join the circus or something.”

  “I’d love to turn the clearing into a wedding venue. Or even an event venue. I don’t necessarily want to be a wedding planner or anything, but I think it would be so fun to have events up there. Twinkle lights and tents. The way it looked the night of Phee and Quinn’s wedding. Something about that was just magical.” She didn’t tell Britt that a big part of the magic was the memories she had of Luke from that night—before she knew how … permanent Mateo was in Luke’s life. “I know it probably sounds silly, but—”

  “It doesn’t sound silly. Just … very different from Joanna Chandler, Attorney at Law.”

  She cringed. “I know. Don’t tell anyone.”

  “I won’t. But you should go for it. Why not?”

  “Now you sound like Luke.”

  “What do you mean?” Britt stretched, then scooted back until she was sitting cross-legged in the doorway. “Hand me that masking tape, will you?”

  Joanna retrieved the roll of tape and slid down to sit on the floor with her back against the wall. “Luke thinks the wedding venue is a good idea.”

  “Well, sure he does. It would be job security for him.”

  “True.” But she didn’t think that was why he encouraged her. She’d felt his encouragement was because he genuinely believed in her ability to make the dream of a wedding venue come true. She wondered what Ben would think about the idea. But she was pretty sure she knew. He would say she was wasting her intelligence on something frivolous. Something she couldn’t begin to make as much money at as she could with a career in law. A lot of people would think the same. People she cared about.

  Maybe she’d have Ben come early Friday and give him a tour of the property. Test the waters.

  She looked up to see Britt watching her, paintbrush aloft, head tilted.

  “Sorry … Just thinking. I’m pretty sure Luke doesn’t really need the income from DJing. It’s kind of an extension of his job at the radio station.”

  Britt shrugged and went back to painting. “You should just be glad you have two men to choose fro
m.”

  “Ha! Men! They’re nothing but trouble. You can have ’em.”

  “Thanks anyway. Not my type. But hey, keep sending me your castoffs. Maybe I’ll hit the jackpot eventually.”

  “Castoffs? Please! And what is your type?” She’d never really thought of her baby sister as having the same longings she did. To be married. To be settled in life. But Britt was twenty-four, and now that she was mostly stuck out here running the Airbnb rentals, she didn’t have as much chance to meet anyone the way she had when she was at college.

  “Tall, dark, handsome, talented, kind … rich.” Britt threw a raised-eyebrow look at Joanna over her shoulder.

  “Uh-huh … You should have put rich first on the list. My spoiled baby sister will need a millionaire husband to keep her in the luxury to which she’s accustomed.”

  “I am not spoiled.”

  “So you say. But if you don’t want to be accused of being spoiled, maybe you should cancel that spa appointment I saw on your calendar.” She angled her head toward the tidy kitchen where Britt’s calendar hung.

  “It’s not a spa appointment. It’s a massage. All this crouching and kneeling is killing my back.” She stretched and groaned as if to prove her point.

  “A two-hour massage?”

  “Snoop! For your information, that includes a manicure. And pedicure.” Britt set down the paintbrush on the rim of the paint can and held out her hands. “Look at these claws. That’s from sandpaper and paint and paint thinner and—”

  “Hey”—Joanna held her own hands out, palms-up—“you don’t have to justify anything to me. As long as it doesn’t come out of the renovation budget, what you do with your money is your business. I’m just giving you a hard time.”

  “Yeah, well, cut it out. I don’t have time to take a guilt trip.”

  “Haha.” Smiling, Jo struggled to her feet. One silver lining in “losing” their older sister to marriage was that Joanna and Britt had become closer. For the first time in their adult life, Jo had started to see her baby sister as a peer. And one she really liked. Even if there was a little truth to the “spoiled” accusation she’d leveled at Britt. “The floor looks good, sis. Can you finish up without me? I need to go call one of the many men I have lined up wanting to date the likes of me.”

  “Oh, sure, you go make your call. I’ll stay here and work my tail off while you nab the last of the city’s eligible bachelors.”

  “Love you,” Jo singsonged as she exited the cabin. She didn’t have any clearer insight than she had an hour ago, but the time with her sister had done her heart good.

  CHAPTER 27

  SO, YOU’RE A BIG LANDOWNER now. Impressive.” Ben stood in the clearing, arms akimbo, surveying the lay of the land.

  Joanna watched him, trying to read his expression. He looked good, his hair longer than he used to wear it, and the sleeves of his crisp button-down shirt rolled up to reveal tan forearms.

  “This is where Phee and Quinn got married,” she told him. “We’re—I’m thinking about renting this spot out as a wedding venue.” She’d gone back and forth about whether to tell him, but now, it came out as naturally as if they were talking about the weather. She’d forgotten how easy Ben was to talk to.

  “Do you think you’d make any money at that? It seems like you’d have to charge a lot to make it worthwhile.”

  “Maybe, but no more than most venues. Of course, it wouldn’t work for winter weddings, but I wouldn’t want to have to keep it open all year anyway. We bought a lot of supplies for Phee’s wedding … It seems a shame for them to go to waste.”

  “You could sell them on Craigslist.”

  She frowned. But knowing him, he wasn’t being negative. Just practical. “I take it you don’t think the wedding venue is a good idea?”

  He laughed. “I didn’t say that. It just sounds like a lot of work.”

  “It might be, but I’ve never been afraid of hard work.” Now, she was on the defensive. She didn’t like the feeling.

  “I’m sure that’s true.” He turned as if to head back down the stairs to the lane. “Well, it’s awfully pretty up here, that’s for sure. Nice piece of property.”

  “We were in the right place at the right time. We bought it with Mom’s inheritance … from her grandparents. She never spent much of it, so what was left was enough to buy this place and have a little left over to fix up the cabins. We almost couldn’t talk Phee into going in with us, but she came around.”

  “And now Phylicia’s building here? What … did you make a pact you’d all stick together or something?” She couldn’t read his expression, but she thought he was teasing.

  “That’ll be decided on a case-by-case basis.” She tried to match his enigmatic smile. “But Britt and I sure were happy when we found out Phee and Quinn wanted to build out here.”

  “Do you think you’ll want to stay here too?”

  She shrugged, then nodded. Because she sensed that was what he expected. “I do like it here. More than I thought I’d like living secluded in the country. But who knows what the future holds.”

  “True.” He took another step toward the stairs. “Shall we go eat? Before it gets crowded?”

  “Sure.” She was disappointed he didn’t seem more interested in touring the rest of the property. She’d personally tidied up the cabins and her cottage was spotless. But he’d barely stuck his head in the door of the cottage and had declined her invitation to see the cabins. She hadn’t asked if he wanted to see the clearing, but instead just led the way.

  But Ben informed her he’d reserved call-ahead seating at the Gordonville Grill in the next town over, and he seemed worried they’d lose their spot if they were a few seconds late.

  When they reached the lane at the bottom of the steps, he headed for his car.

  “I’ll be right there. I need to grab my purse from the house.”

  “I won’t leave without you.” The charming smile she remembered from the days when she’d been in love with him was back and excitement swelled inside her.

  She hurried into the house, stopping only to check her appearance in the mirror. She’d curled her hair and worn a summery dress with sandals. Not so dressy that it made this date look more important than Ben might mean it to be, yet pretty and special in case the evening did turn out to be the beginning of something new.

  She had to admit it was going to be nice to not have some chattery kid in the back seat interrupting their conversation at every turn. Ben even opened the door for her and waited until she’d tucked the skirt of her dress safely inside before closing the door.

  “You hungry?” he asked when he was buckled behind the wheel.

  “I am. I haven’t eaten in Gordonville in forever.”

  “Me neither. But I sometimes dream about their prime rib.”

  She laughed. “It’s the blackberry cobbler for me.”

  “For dinner?”

  “No, but I’ll eat light so I have room for cobbler after.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  He drove slowly down the lane, but once on the highway he sped up. She’d forgotten that Ben liked to drive fast. It hadn’t bothered her so much in their early days of dating, but after he’d wrecked his car—thankfully, after dropping her off from a date one night—she’d begged him to slow down. Apparently he’d forgotten a hard-learned lesson.

  “Hey …” She reached and touched his sleeve briefly. “Slow down a little, will you?”

  “You sound like my mom.”

  “I don’t want to miss out on that blackberry cobbler.”

  “Why do you think I’m driving so fast?”

  “What I mean is, I’d like to arrive alive.”

  “So I can drive faster on the way home?”

  She frowned. “I wish you wouldn’t take such risks.”

  He leaned back and threw her a look. “Look who’s talking, Miss buy a big ol’ piece of property and open a hotel.”

  She laughed. “That’s not exactly a
life-threatening risk. And it’s not a hotel. Airbnb.”

  “Same difference. You have complete strangers sleeping in your beds.” He tapped the brake again. “Doesn’t that feel kind of weird?”

  “The strangers, you mean? Not really. Maybe it did at first, but we’ve gotten used to it. People are really nice. Well, most of them anyway.”

  “And if they’re not?”

  “We grin and bear it.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  “No, we really do. I’ve been blazing mad a couple times, but reviews are huge in this business, so we don’t want to tick anybody off.”

  Ben shook his head. “I don’t think I’d survive very long in that business then.”

  “You’d probably be good at it. You were always good at schmoozing.” She laughed. “I mean that in the nicest possible way.”

  He gave a humorless laugh. “I’ve gotten grumpy in my old age.”

  She was inclined to agree with him, but she didn’t want to start the evening on a sour note.

  They were mostly silent the rest of the twenty-minute drive to Gordonville, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Still, she wondered what they’d talk about all through dinner.

  But that turned out not to be a problem. Once they were seated, the floodgates opened and Ben talked a mile a minute. He caught her up on everything that had been going on with him in the past year and a half, and by the time their food came, they were laughing together like the old friends they were.

  “So, you’re still working at Pritchert & Pritchert? How’s that going? When are you going to start back to school so you can open your own law firm?”

  She wiped the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “Funny you should ask. Britt and I were just talking about that the other day. The truth is, I’m not sure I’ll go back to school. I’m kind of liking the idea of the wedding venue. And even though Britt is handling most of the Airbnb stuff, she needs help with a lot of it. And I kind of enjoy that too. The hospitality and all.”

  “But there’s no way you’d ever make what you would as an attorney running a bed and breakfast. Is there?”

  And there it was. She shook her head. “Probably not. But that’s not as important to me as it used to be. Since Mom died … my perspective has changed on a lot of things.”